The next two days of our trip was spent in the beautiful state of Kentucky. We spent two nights in Bowling Green, home of the greatest car ever made, the Chevrolet Corvette. The family and I spent a couple of hours just touring the National Corvette Museum. If you are a car fan, or just love Corvettes, itÂ’s worth the stop if you are in the area. There was a lot of history about the car and even different displays showing the evolution of Corvettes.

Ktreva had her favorite, the ever so rare Tangier Shrine Corvette Patrol 1962 Vette in Cadillac Royal Heather Amethyst. Only 13 of these cars were built, and one of the only surviving ones is on display at the museum. Now you could say she likes it because itÂ’s a classic, or it looks greatÂ… but truth be told itÂ’s because I donÂ’t care what color they say it is, it looks pink and Ktreva likes the color pink.

Me on the other hand stuck with my favorite. They did not have the 1992 Corvette ZR-1, but they did have a couple of the 1991 models, which is close enough. This was the car that I lusted after when I was a senior in High School and through out college. It was the first car I remember actually drooling over.

After the Corvette Museum we took Clone into his first cave, but not just any cave. The Lost River Cave. ItÂ’s an underground river that runs through a cave. You get to view the sites by riding in a boat.

IÂ’ve visited numerous caves in my lifetime, but I have never taken an underground boat ride before last week. There was a lot of history to this cave, and we had a good guide that not only liked to talk, but also at least sounded like he knew what he was talking about. Clone also developed an affinity towards caves. This was just the first of three we went into, including Mammoth Cave and Outlaw Cave. If it was up to Clone IÂ’m sure we would have visited many more.

Ktreva had a chance to go horseback riding. Since Clone was too young to go, and I have a strong hatred of horses, we stayed back while she took Boopie out on the open trail. While we were waiting Clone saw a chair lift for an Alpine slide. He didnÂ’t care about the slide; he just wanted to ride the chair. Can you guess what Clone and I got to do, thatÂ’s right, ride the chair lift. We also went go-carting and ate ice cream.

When Ktreva and Boopie finished their trail ride, we all went to Guntown Mountain. Which had a Wild West town on top of one a “mountain” (aka really big hill as none of these were actual mountains.) They had a chairlift to get to the top, which of course Clone loved. Maybe it was because we were there in the middle of the week, but it wasn’t that busy. They had some gunfights, a magic show and a couple of other shows they put on. There was a Can-can show that I dragged the family to. Boopie wasn’t all that interested at first, until he saw what it was. Hey pretty girls kicking up their legs showing off their petticoats and stockings are enough to get any teenage boy interested. At the end of the show the girls where selling off their garters if you wanted one. I didn’t buy one because my wife was sitting there with me and I didn’t feel like getting into that kind of trouble. Boopie was too shy to go up and get one, but not Clone. Heck no, he loved it; he went up paid his money and removed a garter from the girl of his choice.

ThatÂ’s my boy!

We had a lot of fun in Cave Country Kentucky, we spent two days there and where only able to do a handful of the attractions that we would have liked to have done. Including only one of the Mammoth Cave tours. The one tour we took there lasted for four hours and only traversed about three quarters of a mile of this huge cavern.

There is a lot of fun to be had in this region of Kentucky. All of the above attractions where with in 30 minutes of where we stayed, and many of them where in the same town. We enjoyed every minute of our visit there.

Tomorrow I will go into our next part of our trip and my visit to the Holy Land, the Jack Daniels Distillery.

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1 Go Clone!!!

Posted by: That 1 Guy at July 31, 2006 08:08 PM (8pWv9)

2 If you end up near Louisiana let me know

I know a great place for crawfish and beer!

Posted by: BloodSpite at August 01, 2006 06:06 AM (i81Vx)

3 From the looks of your legs it seems the sun doesn't shine in Kentucky.

Posted by: Dr. Phat Tony at August 01, 2006 09:18 AM (fk/lm)

4 He is a charmer, ain't he? So when do I get to see him again?!?!?!?!

Posted by: Tammi at August 01, 2006 06:56 PM (3UQTn)

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WeÂ’ve returned from our whirlwind adventures through Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Missouri. The family had a great time. We were able to see a lot of interesting sites, learn new things and have a lot of fun. Over the next couple of days IÂ’ll share with you some photos and stories of all that we did.

We left bright and early Sunday morning for our first destination, Lafayette, Indiana. Our first stop was the Tippecanoe Battlefield. Unlike when Ktreva and I were here last February, the weather was nice enough for us to want to walk the battlefield. Well, it was nice enough for me to make the family walk the battlefield. We walked the entire field. Even parts of it where there were no markers. I didnÂ’t realize that when we started the walk, fortunately we avoided all the poison ivy.

Ktreva, Boopie and Clone in front of the Tippecanoe memorial monument.

After the Battlefield we went to the Wolf Park. Unfortunately our favorite guide was out of town that day. We ended up settling on one of the other guides. Don’t get me wrong, they were good, but it’s always better if you have your favorite. Clone wanted to go play with the “big doggies.” After some convincing that A) They were not doggies 2) The wolves probably did not want to play with him D) The people in the cage had training, he was okay with just looking at the “big doggies” play. We did learn why you don’t have pizza delivered to the park. Apparently the wolves loves them some pizza.

We also were able to see a wolf and bison demonstration. The park put three wolves in with a herd of bison to so the public could see how they interact. This is when we learned that other then pizza, wolves are the number one predator for Granny Smith apples. There were some times when the wolves would approach the bison, only to be driven off by one of the large adults. A whole pack of wolves versus a sick or young bison is a threat. One wolf versus a full-grown bull is just funny to watch. The boys learned about strength in numbers.

The Great Grey Apple Hunter

It was that night we learned of the sniper shootings on the Indiana interstates. In fact one of them was on the interstate we were traveling on. Great! That’s what we need on our vacation. Traveling with a three year old who hates to ride can be tense enough, throw in the big electric signs along the interstate that read, “WARNING! Report any suspicious activity on overpasses to the police” and the radio warnings didn’t help. Fortunately we come through Indiana with out any new ventilation holes in the van.

Monday morning we went to breakfast with Laughing Wolf, who had made it back to town. It was nice being able to visit with him again. It wasnÂ’t until we were back on the road that we realized that we forgot to get a picture of the family with him. We had meant to get one.

More photos and details of our trip will come later. For those of you that are interested in the supernatural, I have some very interesting photos from the Shiloh Battlefield. Right now itÂ’s just good to be back.

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Suitcases packed, Van loaded, maps sorted, itÂ’s vacation time. First stop, the Wolf Park. Ktreva and I went to Wolf fest this year and met some great people, as well as visiting the park. At the time we decided maybe weÂ’ll bring the boys back sometime, we thought since we are passing right by there, weÂ’re going to stop and see it. Laughing Wolf has been forewarned and has allegedly put the park on lockdown for crazy re-enactor types interested in wolf hides. Do you know what the street value is on them? (IÂ’m kidding, since I wouldnÂ’t think of doing anything like thatÂ… for long.) Plus then the boys can see the Tippecanoe battlefield. Boopie spent some time learning about it this year and it we thought it would be nice for him to see where the battle actually took place.

Then itÂ’s off on a weeklong, whirlwind adventure of Kentucky, Tennessee and now Missouri. IÂ’m trying to get a couple of bloggers in those states to come out from their shells, but so far it hasnÂ’t been too promising. I thought the image of a Northerner sweating in the ungodly southern summer heat would be appealing, apparently I was wrong. ThatÂ’s okay, it appeals to my shy and introverted nature.

IÂ’m going to try to make updates when I can, but no promises.

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Well, Ktreva is off on another whirlwind adventure for work, at least this time sheÂ’s only gone one night. Since she was not home I thought it would be a good time to remind the boys about firearm safety, especially since I procured 9 boxes of ammo today.

After locking the ammo in a safe box. ItÂ’s rated for ammunition and the only key to it is on my key chain. I explained to the boys again, and yes even Clone, firearm safety. Just because he is three doesnÂ’t mean he should not learn about firearm safety. IÂ’m a firm believer that if you donÂ’t mystify firearms, it takes away the allure of them in children. After about a good hour education process I sent the boys to play while I cooked dinner.

I hadn’t been cooking thirty minutes when Clone comes running into the kitchen. Clone, “Dada, Dada, Brother has a gun.” Thinking that Boopie might be playing with the flintlock rifle I gave him for his birthday I come out of the kitchen, in a hurry. Nope, Boopie’s rifle is right where it should be; Boopie has a toy pistol made of metal that looks similar to my .357 revolver.

IÂ’d say I laughed, but I didnÂ’t. I was proud of Clone. He saw what her perceived as a dangerous situation and quickly went to get an adult. That people is proper gun control. The kind that is up to the parent to teach, not the kind where the government outlaws firearms. Oh, and before you ask, All of my firearms are secured and the ammunition is locked away where the boys canÂ’t get to it. So, unless they bring home ammunition from the Day Care, and figured out how to open the gun cases, they would not be able to hurt anyone with themÂ… well unless they started throwing the cases at each other.

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Monday I took the day off of work. I didnÂ’t have a good reason to, other then I just wanted to take the day. I had been taking a lot of days off due to home improvements and the such, and I felt it would be nice to take a relaxing day, one that I didnÂ’t have to do anything or go anywhere if I didnÂ’t want to. Well I wanted to go somewhere. I decided to take the boys to the Burpee Museum of Natural History. ItÂ’s a small local museum, but some of you may have heard of it before. It has been in the national scientific spot light for the last couple of years due to a discovery that was made by a research team. In August of 2001 a team from the museum found the fossil remains of a relatively small dinosaur in Montana.

The controversy started with what kind of Dinosaur they had found. Some felt it was an extremely rare (Ie they only have the skull of one other) Nanotyrannus or a juvenile Tyrannosaurus Rex (Which is rare in and of itself). After many years of debate (which from what I understand is still on going) it was decided that Jane (What they named the beastie) was in fact a Juvenile T-Rex, 11 years old.

That didnÂ’t subside the excitement around Jane. With roughly 50% of her skeleton preserved, she is the most complete single dinosaur find. Most of the time when we see skeletons in museums they are generally pieced together from different skeletons and have fabricated bones. Scientists from all over the country have come to look at Jane to examine her.

They finished her display last summer, but I have not had a chance to get down there to view her. I had the day alone with Clone and Boopie, Ktreva had to work, so I thought it would be fun to take them to see the dinosaurs. Clone had no idea what I was talking about when I told him where we were going. When we came around the corner and there was Jane, and some other dinosaurs (Including a full size T-rex) he let out a resounding “WOW” that echoed through the museum. Boopie found it neat to finally see the dinosaur that has been in the local and national news. For a small museum, they do have a nice display for the dinosaurs. Then again it is the centerpiece of the museum, and the only display really worth seeing.

After the Natural History Museum, I took the boys next door to the Discovery Center. ItÂ’s a learning area that teaches kids about science through a hands on experience. IE I tricked the kids into learning. While they thought they where playing, they where learning about physics and human development. Even I learned something there. Over the last year, weÂ’ve had a lot of people telling us Clone is big for his age. I just put it off as they didnÂ’t know what they where talking about. While at the Discovery Center they have a development section. There was a wall that you could stand up against and measure your height to that of other people your age. Clone was off the chart for 3 year olds by about an eight of an inch. I guess he is big for his age.

The boys both had a lot of fun at the Discovery Center. Boopie was able to see how fast of a baseball he can pitch, Clone learned that he can make an air cannon out of a vacuum cleaner and some tennis balls. I learned that I really need to protect Mr. Happy and the Goodtime boys better when Clone is trying to make an air cannon out of hoses.

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